Yorkshire Water hits out at beach reports

Published:15:42Monday 17 March 2014

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Yorkshire Water has hit out at claims in two national newspapers that Scarborough’s South Bay beach will be closed in 2015.

Both the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday carried the report, which said that Scarborough, along with Blackpool and other famous beaches would have to have warning signs placed on the beaches saying swimmers would be at risk from sickness if they went in the water.

In a strongly worded response the water company said the reports used old information and had made no mention of the £50m bathing water improvement project currently being carried out.

Lindsay Page of Yorkshire Water said: “We have long been aware of that the water quality at Scarborough South beach would not meet the new, stricter standards about to be imposed.

“That’s why in 2010 we formed a partnership with local authorities, Welcome To Yorkshire and the Environment Agency and promised to invest £110m so that our beaches don’t just pass the standard, they reach the much stricter ‘excellent’ level, meaning the bathing water quality will be among the best in Europe.

“We have spent £50m in Scarborough, improving the capacity of the sewage system as well as upgrading our treatment works so that people visiting Yorkshire resorts can enjoy a paddle, swim or surf with confidence.

“All of our work will be finished in time for this year’s bathing season, which starts on 1 May.

The combination of this huge investment and the work of the other partners on land management, which can also have an impact on water quality, means there is no chance of there having to be signs warning people not to go in the water.”